Advertisement
Published: April 14th 2013
The group has arrived and it is an interesting mix .Diane ,Gerald (retired teachers ) and their daughter Lynette (an emerg doc) from Alberta ... Melody and CC from Singapore ..., Pru and Billy (retired teachers ) from Britan ...and Kim and Jeanette from Sydney Australia . A mixed group and I think they'll be interesting companians. Lynette must have paid the single supplement so I get a single room after all . Our guide is Yura a russian-Korean Uzbek who was THE boxing champ of Uzek for 3 years in the late 90's . He has been a guide for 15 years and knows his buisness well.
Enough of that
We spent today touring around the city and it continues to amaze me . There are parks that stretch for blocks and blocks (green spaces ) and huge oak and plane trees lining the streets . The temps here reach 45-50 in the summer months and if it weren't for the trees I am sure it would be unbearable .Today at 28 it was hot enough.
It is a city of between 2.5and 5 million people ... that never seem to be crowding the streets . They have a 6 day work and study week so Sundays I guess with hang out at home . Last night we were at an Uzbek restaurant for supper . It was the gaudiest place with mirrors and strobe lights . A DJ was playing dance music and the folks , all ages , were dancing up a storm . The food was good starting with bread ,vegetables , herbs and a yogurt dip followed be shish kebaps and fries or rice and washed down with a beer . Good stuff at 33300 som ($16.60) it would be hard to beat .
Today's touring brought us to Chorsu the old city and although it is a maze it does have some areas a bit more open . The buildings are of mud and straw with a brick base . The walls are @18" thick which keeps people cool in summer and warm in winter when it can go down to -20 with really cold (?) constant winds . The people are friendly and as curious about us as we are of them . Dress is mostly traditional although the colours and patterns are quite vibrant . The women do not have their faces or necks covered . The scarf is tied more as a turban and hair does show . The men were wearing square black caps .
From Chorsu we walked to a mausalem and on to the Building that houses the oldest Koran in Asia . It was done in the 6th (?) century on deer skin . It is really large and honoured by many pilgrams.The building that houses it is quite spectacular . As are most of the public buildings in this city .The Friday Mosque , which is used for prayer by the Sunni Moslems of Tashkent about 2/3 times a year ( it is a secular population) had no one in sight . It had an Asian feel to it . The courtyard had wooden filigree and columns rather than painted or tiled. It had a good feel .
For lunch we had PLOV the national dish . A mix of rice ,meat ,onions ,carrots ,raisins ,apricots and WAY too much oil . My custom of moving everything to the sides and places folded napkins in the center served me well . It was good food !
We saw several more memorials ,squares and statues before finally heading back to the hotel . It was a good day .
Tomorrow we head to Samarkand . A 4 hour drive leaving here a 8am .I dug out the alarm last night and guess I'll need to use it the next 11 days. I'm ready to move on and excited to be going . Tashkent has been good .
Hope all is well and the melt is continuing slowly.
Thank you for all the comments .Keep them coming .I will try to respond but know that I am using internet cafes and although not expensive I don't type too fast.
Till the next time.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.103s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 13; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0746s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
R&C
non-member comment
Sounds great!
It really does. Glad you have good companions & a good guide. But I am sure you would get along with most people. You are outgoing enough & not to judgemental. Good for you. I think the melt is going slowly. Had 2 whiney emails this am about the weather. They had more snow on Thurs. The temp is not too high. So I think no problem so far. We leave here next wk. Not anxious to face the great white north. Don't know what we will do. Maybe we will have to go to Monique's. They have greens growing in the greenhouse already. They are picking & eating. Lucky people. We have been trying to make decisions about accommodations for the wedding. Sounds like the R. LaBelle's will be camping. Michelle will get a tent or camper from Steph. So that would be great. We are still enjoying Vegas. Hate to leave the heat. But... Reality will be setting in soon. Enjoy. We look forward to you next missive. Love, R&C